Cisco ANZ launched a two-month wellness initiative called CiscoACTIVE to promote employee health and wellness. As part of CiscoACTIVE, employees participated in fitness activities and challenges using Fitbit devices. Results showed that 50% of participants increased their average daily steps to over 10,000, up from 43% previously. Employee surveys also found that 86% reported being more active with their Fitbit devices, 95% intended to continue the activities, and 74% would recommend similar wellness programs. Due to the success of CiscoACTIVE in improving employee health, Cisco ANZ plans to host more wellness initiatives in the future.

1. Cisco Case Study | Fitbit
1
A global technology company takes
its wellness efforts down under

2. Cisco Case Study | Fitbit
How it started
Cisco’s Australia and New Zealand offices (Cisco ANZ)
knew they needed to improve their sedentary working
environment and promote a healthy workplace. In October
2016, they launched CiscoACTIVE, a two-month wellness
initiative, to bring a culture of wellness down under. The
Human Resources team introduced a series of activities to
help employees make healthy lifestyle changes at work and
at home, including bringing in an onsite wellness expert to
oversee the program. Cisco ANZ also implemented Fitbit
Health Solution’s corporate wellness program and either
offered a fully subsidized Fitbit Charge 2, or other premium
Fitbit devices at a reduced rate.
The skinny on CiscoACTIVE
CiscoACTIVE included nutrition webinars, onsite fitness
sessions, gym membership discounts, and activity
challenges paired with Fitbit devices. Cisco ANZ hosted
four step challenges—where employees were challenged to
achieve certain goals, such as reaching the greatest number
of steps, beating the CEO’s and other senior leadership’s
step counts, hitting the most active minutes, and achieving
the most improved step count. Creative mini-challenges
were also involved, like who could post the best healthy
selfie on social media. Challenge winners were eligible to
win health empowerment tools such as Fitbit products, like
accessory bands and Fitbit Aria WiFi smart scales.
Cisco Australia and New
Zealand get stepping
HEADQUARTERS: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: ABOUT 1,300
LOCATIONS: 10
Brag-worthy results
Cisco ANZ knocked their wellness expectations out of the
park, and they had impressive numbers to prove it. At the end
of CiscoACTIVE, 50% of participants achieved an average of
10,000+ steps a day—an increase from 43% at the beginning
of the program. In addition, the percentage of people who
were considered less active (average of <7,500 steps) at the
beginning of the program decreased from 25% to 18% at the
end of the program.
The CiscoACTIVE challenge powered
by Fitbit was an amazing program to be
part of and I loved hearing all the positive
comments from our employees. Seeing
employees who did not traditionally
engage in physical activity become
involved in team and individual fitness
challenges was the ultimate outcome.
Along with that, we created a very strong
health and wellness culture across the
company, and had a great deal of fun.
- Adrian West, Cisco Head of HR, Australia and New Zealand
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3. Cisco Case Study | Fitbit
Learning from
employees
Human Resources distributed a survey at the end of the
program to gauge employee satisfaction and the program’s
impact on employees’ healthy behaviors. Feedback was
positive, with 86% of participants reporting being more
active since receiving their Fitbit device, 95% intending
to continue increasing their physical activity once the
CiscoACTIVE program ended, and 74% being likely to
recommend a similar wellness program that incorporated
the use of Fitbit devices.
Because of their wellness program’s
success, Cisco ANZ is looking forward
to hosting future wellness initiatives
that encourage employees to be their
healthiest and best selves.
The progress was hard to ignore
1. Ben D Ewald, Christopher Oldmeadow and John R Attia. (2016, September 7). Daily step
count and the need for hospital care in subsequent years in a community-based sample of
older Australians. The Medical Journal of Australia.
50%
of participants averaged 10,000+ steps,
an increase from 43% at the beginning
of CiscoACTIVE.
86%
reported being more active
since receving their Fitbit device.
95%
said they intend to continue increasing
physical activity after the CiscoACTIVE
program ended.
DID YOU KNOW?
Australia is gaining a better understanding of the
importance of wellness. In fact, a recent study showed
that an increase in steps from 4,500 to 8,800 is associated
with one less day in the hospital for every three years for
Australians over 55 years old. The study suggests that
health interventions that encourage walking could have an
effect on a decrease in hospital care.1
Corporate wellness
programs, like CiscoACTIVE, can be an effective way to
encourage employees to make healthier lifestyle choices
both at work, and at home.

4. Cisco Case Study | Fitbit
Ask for feedback:
Survey your employees once an activity challenge
ends to gain a better understanding of what
worked and what could be improved.
Key Takeaways
Get ideas to get your company moving.
Make wellness global:
Create a culture of inclusion by adding all office
locations­—even across countries—to your
wellness program.
To learn more about how Fitbit Health Solutions can help you
build successful programs and improve employee health,
contact us at www.fitbit.com/group-health.
CS-017-A
Encourage social sharing:
Tap into the power of social media by encouraging
people to share their best healthy selfie—like a photo
of an employee hiking with friends.
Switch it up:
Don’t just go for highest step count. Focus on
other activity goals like most active minutes or
most improved step count.